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Retired international rugby player Ben Cohen has told a court he is fighting to save his family home and his relationship with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff after she was caught driving without insurance.
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Rihanoff was spotted driving her Audi Q3 with the number plate 72 in Horsemarket, Northampton, on April 4.
Appearing at Northampton Crown Court under the name of Kristina Pchenitchnykh, the Russian ballroom dance specialist cried throughout Friday’s proceedings and at one point asked to leave the courtroom because she “felt ill”.
Rihanoff, 46, a mother of one, received six points on her licence but faces a possible driving ban after racking up 12 penalty points, the report said. Northamptonshire Telegraph.
During Friday’s appeal, Cohen, her long-time partner, who appeared as her witness, admitted to overlooking a text message from her insurance company before the incident.
Retired international rugby player Ben Cohen has told a court he is fighting to save his family home and his relationship with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff after she was caught driving without insurance.
The former rugby player, grandson of the late world champion footballer George Cohen, admitted he was responsible for insuring both vehicles and had been looking for a cheaper deal since February after receiving a £7,500 quote from Aviva.
He subsequently opted for a new policy with Dial Direct, to whom he was required to make monthly payments by direct debit on 22 February.
Addressing the overlooked text, Cohen admitted he was abroad when Dial Direct contacted him to warn him his insurance would be cancelled unless he sent them details of not making claims.
Retired Northampton and England Wing said it failed to respond because it did not have a no-claims bonus and also failed to review the company’s guidelines, resulting in its policy being cancelled on March 7.
Asked by Rihanoff’s attorney, Michael Mulkerrins, whether perceived difficulties in his relationship with Rihanoff had affected his finances, Cohen, 45, admitted that some of their shared business interests, including a local yoga studio, had been damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
He told the court: ‘We are still living together. We are in the same financial situation. We run a business together so the problem is that we opened the business before COVID and we suffered the worst consequences and honestly this is another problem I have to deal with.
‘I wake up every day and fight to keep from losing everything: my cars, my house, and my relationship. I’m so exhausted.
“I have overdrawn credit cards. I’m overdrawn on both accounts. We have business debt because of COVID. It’s just another problem.”